Thanks for the information Bill. Both my Canon SX10 and my Panasonic FZ8 are great superzoom cameras. I switch back between the two of them. The Lecia lens makes the FZ8 do wonders in pictures with good lighting, however it gets real noisy in darker pictures.

The D40 and a good lens kit may be the way to go for me. I am not concerned how many megapixels a camera has, the more megapixels does not mean it's a better camera. The lens and the sensor have a lot more to do with quality then the number of megapixels. The sensors on a P&S or a SuperZoom are smaller than a DSLR so my main focus is on a camera that can handle noise well. With a larger sensor, the noise is mitigated a bit on a DSLR. Since I shoot lightning and storm pictures, less noise the better.

I purchased my SX10 through Adorama and the service was wonderful. I will probably use them again when I purchase my DSLR.

Do you have any photos posted on flick'r, picasa, or photobucket?